Brad Potts' second goal of the season earned Preston a 2-1 victory at Charlton.
The Addicks, who have lost their last three Sky Bet Championship matches at The Valley, went ahead through Joe Rankin-Costello in the first half.
But North End equalised before the interval through Lewis Dobbin.
Potts scored in the 65th minute as Preston won on the road for the first time since January 4.
Charlton started strongly and there were just 55 seconds on the clock when captain Greg Docherty struck a left-footed volley narrowly over the crossbar.
Rankin-Costello was next to go close, with his header from a Tyreece Campbell cross coming back off the left-hand post and into the arms of Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
Iversen saved with his legs from Campbell before the Addicks went ahead in the 18th minute.
Sonny Carey's long throw was inadvertently flicked on by Preston striker Daniel Jebbison and Rankin-Costello volleyed in from close range.
Iversen denied Campbell again a minute after that with Lyndon Dykes unable to make contact with the loose ball as Lewis Gibson managed to clear the danger.
Those missed opportunities proved costly as the visitors levelled in the 25th minute through Dobbin. The on-loan Aston Villa forward headed in his eighth league goal of the campaign from Potts' cross from the right.
Preston skipper Ben Whiteman should have done better with a header which drifted wide of the right-hand upright while Potts was unable to keep his shot down from Dobbin's pullback in the last notable action of the first period.
The visitors controlled the early stages of the second half with Jebbison prodding wide at the near post from Alfie Devine's low cross after a lengthy spell of possession.
Whiteman nodded over a Devine corner and the passivity shown by Charlton sparked boss Nathan Jones into a double change - Matty Godden and Ibrahim Fullah replacing Rankin-Costello and Luke Chambers in the 57th minute.
Preston went ahead from a counter-attack in the 65th minute. The dangerous Dobbin surged forward and released the ball for Potts to beat Will Mannion with a low finish.
Iversen knew very little about a point-blank block after Lloyd Jones connected with Jayden Fevrier's low cross from five yards in the 76th minute.
Preston defender Andrew Hughes broke into the box after outmuscling Fullah but produced a poor attempt which failed to test Mannion.
North End had a chance to make it a two-goal cushion but Dobbin over-hit the ball as he attempted to set up a simple tap-in for Milutin Osmajic.
Charlton went close through Godden and Jones, with Gibson celebrating after making a perfectly-timed tackle to shut down Dykes inside the penalty area.
Charlton's Nathan Jones:
"The thing that is concerning me is the home form at the moment. We have probably had 50-55 chances in our last four or five games. But clear-cut ones? That is the thing.
"My worry is for all our play that we haven't had the conversion rate we need to win games. We can't create any more or throw any more at people.
"Credit to them - they defended their box - but we've had so many chances today and we just cannot find that second goal.
"We are not showing enough quality in the final third. Is that down to decisions or personnel? We have to be better.
"We desperately need that win. We got seven points in a week and since then we've got one point. We had three home games coming up where we were really excited and we just haven't shown that killer instinct.
"Everyone has quality in this division to score a goal - you've seen that today. Brad Potts has been outrunning people down that wing for years and we didn't match that today, for example."
Preston's Paul Heckingbottom:
"Sometimes Lewis beats himself up if he loses possession or doesn't get the final pass right, but he's a threat all game. His energy is great. I want him risking the ball to make the final pass.
"Then, on the break, Pottsy does what he does. A big strength is him on the counter. He is one of the best in the league.
"I'm really pleased. It was hard-earned - we had to show everything. It was a to-and-fro game. After they scored we got a lot more control of the game. We scored a good goal and created some good opportunities.
"But whenever you can't get a two-goal margin you know that you will have to defend at some point.
"Nathan put his big men on and I feel Charlton are at their most dangerous when they are direct. It made for a nervy finish and we had to defend our box as well. There were some really good challenges, headers and blocks.
"We were good value and it's a really good day. I always say an away win is a different feeling - you've got to earn it and can celebrate in front of your fans. I've always loved that feeling from back when I was playing. It sends everyone home happy."
